According to an older edition of Robin Morgan's The Book of Film Biographies, actor Warren Beatty is "more famous for his espousal of liberal causes and his affairs with actresses from Joan Collins to Madonna--despite his achievements." How unfortunate. But we know he's so much more than this reductive, stale statement.

This Hollywood legend has gone from pretty-boy method actor in Elia Kazan's Splendor in the Grass to producer and star of the seminal anti-establishment picture Bonnie and Clyde. He created and starred in films like The Only Game in Town, a fascinating George Steven's gambling picture opposite a blousy but still beautiful Liz Taylor; The Parallax View, a superb paranoid political thriller; Shampoo, a dark satire in which he plays the only straight hairdresser in California; Robert Altman's masterful McCabe & Mrs. Miller and Heaven Can Wait, a sweet romantic comedy that, consistent with '70s cinema, manged to feel depressing. He also directed and starred in Reds, the critically acclaimed saga of John Reed and played Bugsy Siegel in the smart Bugsy.

I've witnessed countless people make the sour face when I bring up both films only to learn they have usually never even seenIshtar or simply discount Bulworth as a silly mistake.How wrong they are.Some don't even know the oftentimes genius Elaine May (who directed and co-starred in the sublime A New Leaf with Walter Matthau and directed both Mikey and Nicky and The Heartbreak Kid) eve directedIshtar. The mind reels. But due to the press attacking the over-budget supposed turkey; it was maligned beyond the level of Gigli. This was The Heaven's Gate of comedy. Not funny.

Comments

I love Ishtar as well and could also sing any of the songs (badly) at the drop of a hat, but it's not without problems. The first half-hour is best and I guess I'd love to see the alternate-universe version where the whole thing is set in New York.

Bulworth is flat-out brilliant. Period. It also works great when paired on a double-bill with Shampoo. I'd definitely always going to think of the phrase "Telling the truth is dangerous business" in relation to these movies now.

I wish I looked about a quarter as good now (I'm 33) as Beatty looks at 70. Hell, I wish I looked half as good when I was 22 as Beatty looks now.

Ishtar's financial disappointment and rumors about May's overbudget spending (though it is no longer that notable a financial loss among various other disasters since then) seemed to have far outweighed any actual viewing back then of the film. I'm not sure why people were supposed to be interested in Columbia's level of profitability, but apparently they were.

Ishtar's quite funny (especially so for the mid-Eighties) in a way that was unusual at that moment. The rather black satire on international politics actually seems more current now than in 1987.

I don't agree with you, Kim, but I loved your article. I watched "Shampoo" recently and felt it was too intellectually stuffy for me. I had the same reaction to "Bulworth". For me, those flicks are not at all fun to watch, but your defense of them was quite admirable.

Great article but you always get me caught off guard. Now there is another two movies I need to add to the old queue, which is getting far too long these days. Can't wait for the next odd and enlightening article to read.